HOUSE OF CRIME & MYSTERY'S 3RD ANNUAL READERS' CHOICE AWARDS

 

Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen. Before I give you the results, here are some statistics regarding your participation. Two years ago, I had received 632 ballots and last year i received an impressive 1,117. We're down a little this time, partly due to the fact that I started the voting on December 22nd, two full weeks later than in December 2013, but also because I neglected the blog this year, especially between September and November. I intend to rectify this situation in 2015, and I hope to have time to finish my new website and put it online before end of year.

So, I still received 978 ballots. Not bad. Wanna see who won? I'll give you the shortlist of the top three vote-getters in each category; if you want to know all the nominees in every category, just go here for the full list.

Now, let's start!

Non-Fiction or Biography Category:

#3- TINSELTOWN by William J. MANN with 18.6%
#2-  GOODIS: A LIFE IN BLACK AND NIGHT by Philippe GARNIER with 22.9%
#1- 400 THINGS COPS KNOW by Adam PLANTINGA with 38.6%

A category won last year by Charles J. Rzecka for his book Being Cool: The Worksof Elmore Leonard. Plantinga's book is already becoming a useful reference work for crime writers. I highly recommend it.

Short Fiction Category:

#3- TROUBLE IN THE HEARTLAND various writers, edited by Joe CLIFFORD with 15.6%
#2- THE BEAT GOES ON by Ian RANKIN  with 18.4%
#1- FACE-OFF various writers, edited by David BALDACCI  with 24.5%

In the winning book, you have stories co-written by Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly, Lee Child and Joseph Finder, Linwood Barclay and Raymond Khoury, Ian Rankin and Peter James, Jeffery Deaver and John Sandford, etc. An All-Star line-up. "Trouble in the Heartland" is an anthology inspired by the music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen; the stories are written by an All-Star line-up of mostly indie authors like Todd Robinson, Les Edgerton, Keith Rawson, Steve Weddle, Eric Beetner, Benoit Lelievre, and others like  Hilary Davidson (one of four women), John McFetridge, Chris F. Holm, and Peter Farris. Oh, also some guy named Dennis Lehane. A very good book by very talented writers.

INDIE or SELF-PUBLISHED Category:

#3- THE BITCH by Les EDGERTON  with 17.4%
#2- THE GUILLOTINE CHOICE by Michael J. MALONE with 20.2%
#1- BITE HARDER by ANONYMOUS-9 (aka Elaine ASH)  with 21.3%

After winning this category two years in a row, Malone is dethroned by Ash, but by a very small margin of 1.1%. Malone had won by only 3% over Chris F. Holm's The Big Reap, last year.

Crime Fiction Translated in French/Meilleur polar traduit en français:

#3- POLICE (Politi) by Jo NESBØ  (tr. Alain Gnaedig) with 16.5%
#2- LES ÂMES PERDUES DE DUTCH ISLAND (Bad Men) by John CONNOLLY (tr. Santiago ARTOZQUI) with 17.3%
#1- CEUX QUI TOMBENT (The Drop) by Michael CONNELLY (tr. Robert PÉPIN) with 20.1%

 

This category was won by Dennis Lehane, last year, with Ils vivent la nuit (a translation of Live By Night). The race was very tight this time with #4 J.K. Rowling's Le ver à soie (The Silkworm) and #5 R.J. Ellory's Les neuf cercles (The Devil and the River) finishing only 2 and 3% respectively from 3rd place. In the USA category, Connelly's The Drop had finished 3rd, two years ago, behind Lehane's Live By Night, and Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl which had been the winner.

World Category (except USA, UK, and Canada):

#3- REYKJAVIK NIGHTS by Arnaldur INDRIDASON with 14.1% of votes
#2- THE SON by Jo NESBØ with  24.7%
#1- LIFE OR DEATH by Michael ROBOTHAM with 30.3%

It is the second year in a row that Robotham and Nesbø finish 1 and 2 in this category, although voting was a bit closer last time: 34% to 32%.

UK Category:

#3- THE SECRET PLACE by Tana FRENCH
#3- THE BONES BENEATH by Mark BILLINGHAM both received 12.7% of the votes
#2- THE FINAL SILENCE by Stuart NEVILLE with 14.2 %
#1- LONG WAY HOME by Eva DOLAN  with 14.7%

This is probably the biggest surprise here; newcomer Eva Dolan has written a very good debut novel, but to beat established writers like French, Neville, Billingham, John Connolly (who finished just 2 votes behind 3rd place), and others, clearly shows that Dolan has impressed many people. She won by only 2 votes! Another newcomer, Luca Veste and his novel Dead Gone, has placed right behind Connolly (who was the winner last year). Two votes behind Veste was J.K. Rowling, with The Silkworm, and three votes behind her was Peter May, with The Lewis Man. This was by far the most difficult category to win because it's the only one where the winner didn't receive at least 20% of the votes. Voters have spread the love almost equally among more than half of the nominees.

USA Category:

#3- THE DROP by Dennis LEHANE with 16.8%
#2- I AM PILGRIM by Terry HAYES with 17%
#1- AFTER I'M GONE by Laura LIPPMAN  with 21.1%

Another really close category here, with only a one-vote difference between Lehane and Hayes. Greg Iles, with Natchez Burning, and Michael Connelly, with The Burning Room, finished 4th and 5th respectively, with 14.5% and 14% of the votes. Michael Connelly was the winner last year with The Black Box, receiving a record 41% of the votes.

Crime Fiction in French/Meilleur polar en français:

#3- YERULDELGGER by/de Ian MANOOK with/avec 18.5%
#2- WILDWOOD by/de Johanne SEYMOUR with/avec 19.1%
#1- VIOLENCE À L'ORIGINE by/de Martin MICHAUD with/avec 22.1%

Michaud wins for the second year in a row, and again by a margin of 3% only; last year, he finished in front of France's Franck Thilliez and his novel Puzzle. This year, it is québécoise Seymour, who got very close.

CANADA Category:

#3- THE LONG WAY HOME by Louise PENNY with 17.2%
#2- BLACK ROCK by John MCFETRIDGE with 18.4%
#1- LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS by Sam WIEBE with 20.2%

It could be called a surprise, but newcomer Wiebe had already received an Arthur Ellis Award (the Unhanged Award) for best unpublished manuscript for this title. Linwood Barclay, with No Safe House, Chevy Stevens with That Night, and Hilary Davidson, with Blood Always Tell, were very close behind the top three.

And finally, the last category.

YOUR FAVOURITE CRIME NOVEL OF 2014/VOTRE POLAR FAVORI DE 2014:

#3- I AM PILGRIM by Terry HAYES  with 14.3%
#2- THE DROP by Dennis LEHANE  with  19.6%
and we have a tie in first, with the same number of votes (even after two recounts!):
#1- LIFE OR DEATH by Michael ROBOTHAM and
#1- AFTER I'M GONE by Laura LIPPMAN with 22.2% each

 

Congratulations to all the winners!
Unfortunately, no money nor trophies are attached to these awards (although I've designed a trophy and might try to get some fundings, but that's another story). Maybe bragging rights between writers and some friendly conversations. The important aspect is that the votes are by you, the readers. It's a lot of work for myself, but I truly enjoy doing it and the huge response is encouraging. With a new website later this year, voting should be much easier next time. So thank you again for participating and for spreading the word. Special thanks to J. Kingston Pierce: a mention at The Rap Sheet always helps to get an increase in trafic this way and many more voters.

Here's hoping that this can get a few more books sold. And if you'd like to see your book nominated, next year, send me a copy at the address in the info page of this blog.

And now, we announce the five winners among all the participants: Winner #1 is Gary Thaden, of Saint-Paul (Minnesota), and the five books he picked are Laura Lippman's After I'm Gone; David Thomas's Ostland; Michael Robotham's Life or Death; Stephan Talty's Hangman; and Elsebeth Egholm's Dead Souls. Winner #2 is Lois Reibach, of Blue Bell (Pennsylvania) and she chose Tess Gerritsen's Die Again; Hilary MacLeod's Bodies and Sole; and Pierre Lemaître's Irène. Winner #3 is John Stickney, of Fairview Park (Ohio), and he picked Lauren Beukes's Broken Monsters; Roberto Costantini's The Deliverance of Evil; and Malcolm Mackay's The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter. Winner #4 is Deborah Ruth, of Cincinnati (Ohio), and her choices are Dean Koontz's Saint Odd, and John Grisham's Gray Mountain. Finally, Winner #5 is Barbara Howe, of Anaheim (California) and she chose Jonathan Kellerman's Killer, and Jessica Treadway's Lacy Eye.

Félicitations to the five winners, and to all those who haven't won, don't despair, I'll have another giveaway very soon.

Cheers, merci beaucoup!

JF
13 January 2015
(updated 31 January 2015)

-30-